Crater Lake Bears. From kodachrome by Welles and Welles.

The Olympic black bear, Euarctos americanus altifrontalis (Elliot) was first noted at Crater Lake from the standpoint of numbers in 1896 when a biological survey was made of the mammals in this area. At that time the black bear was reported to be uncommon (Merriam, 1897). According to one ranger naturalist, bears were so scarce at one time that it was feared they would become extinct in this area. It seems, however, that in 1919 hopes for their survival took a turn for the better when a long, starved-looking female bear put in her appearance (Wynd, 1930).

She soon gave birth to a pair of twins and, after rearing them to the independent stage, wandered off one day to a nearby logging camp. Having learned to place her confidence in human beings, she sat down by a tent and waited to be fed--but instead of food she received a lead slug. The twins, named Jemima and Buster, carried on successfully and are said to be the forerunners of most of the bears now found in the park.

The total number of bears observed in the fall of 1933 was fourteen. This census was taken after the first heavy snowfall, at which time the bears relied on food scraps obtained at the dining hall near park headquarters (Canfield, 1933). According to Wallis (1947), Wildlife Ranger Wilfred Frost observed forty-two bears on August 31, 1939. Thirty-three were black, the remainder being of the brown color phase. Wallis himself estimated the bear population in 1947 to be between twenty and thirty in number. From the foregoing records it is evident that the census of bears during the past 50 years is rather incomplete and lacks data in regard to methods used, percentage of various color phases and any breakdown into age groups.

Cinnamon Cub. From kodachrome by the author.

"Where can I find a bear?" "How many bears are there in the park?" Questions such as these stimulated me to pursue an active program of observations on the bears in the park. During the summer months of 1953 daily records were made in regard to size, color, number and habits.

Although the National Park Service long ago discontinued bear feeding "shows" and prohibits the feeding, teasing and molesting of bears, with the welfare of both bears and visitors in mind, the animals are occasionally seen crossing the roads in various places in the park. They frequently wander through the campgrounds looking for food that may not have been packed away in a secure place. The bear is not a rare mammal in Crater Lake National Park.

The following table is a record of the quantitative results obtained. To obtain this data a segregation plan was used. First, the several females and their first year cubs were segregated, the second year cubs were then differentiated from medium and full size single adults. Daily observations included many repeats which were hard to distinguish at first but soon various differentiative characteristics such as general size, obesity and sex became helpful in individuals within a given category.

It should be understood that by no means do I consider this to be complete because such a field census undoubtedly includes some duplication, and some bears would go unobserved in an area covering two hundred and fifty square miles. However, this is an attempt to start filling in a gap that can be added to from time to time as better methods and additional observations are employed.

Total 41

The only record of a bear observed nursing her young in the park prior to this year was made in 1939 by Mr. Frost (Wallis, 1947). He observed a mother bear nursing triplets near one of the disposal areas. Ranger Naturalist John Mees observed a mother nursing her twins in June, 1953 According to Mees, the mother bear assumed a prostrate position by lying on her back; then with the help of her front paws the two young were arranged in orderly fashion on her ventral side for nursing. Mr. Mees observed them from a distance of fifty yards and noted that loud gurgles could be heard that far away.

As can be seen in the table, which notes the number of bears observed, there was apparently only one cinnamon cub for the 1953 season. This little cinnamon bear had a black twin which was considerably larger. One day the mother crossed the road and, since the snow banks were rather steep on either side, the cubs had to really scramble to climb over them. In fact, the poor little cinnamon could hardly make it up. He rested about half way up one bank and then made it on the second attempt. Since he was not seen again during the season, I wondered if some male bear had killed him.

Two of the full grown male bears, one black and one brown were very conspicuous because of their unusually large and seemingly long front legs. Several of the park staff noted this unusual anatomical feature. The older males also have very large, hard-looking heads which one cannot mistake in trying to segregate the groups.

References

Canfield, David H. 1933. A Bear Story. Nature Notes from Crater Lake National Park 6(1):8-9.

Merriam, C. Hart 1897. The Mammals of Mount Mazama. Mazama 1(2): 204- 230.

Wallis, Orthello L. 1947. A Study of the Mammals of Crater Lake National Park. Unpublished Master's thesis, Oregon State College, Corvallis. 91 pp.

Wynd, F. Lyle 1930. Triplets. Nature Notes from Crater Lake 3(1):2-6.